Jake Hooker, guitarist for the British band The Arrows and the writer of the rock anthem I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll, died on Monday in Malibu, CA at the age of 61.
Hooker was born Jerry Mamberg in Haifa, Israel but moved to the U.S. with his family as a child.
Jake moved to England in the early 70’s where he met Alan Merrill and formed the band Streak which eventually became the Arrows. Mickey Most produced their records, scoring their first U.K. hit in 1974 with A Touch Too Much (#8) and followed in 1975 with My Last Night With You (#25).
While those were the only two top forty hits by the band, they may be best known for their recording of Hooker and Merrill’s I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll, which they released as a single in 1975. While it didn’t become a major hit for The Arrows, it was covered by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1981 becoming a number one record around the world.
The band also had two 14-week runs on Granada Television with their own show Arrows in 1976 and 1977. To this day, they are the only musical group to have multiple runs of a television show while not releasing any new music.
The band broke up in 1977 with Hooker moving back to the U.S. to manage his new wife, Lorna Luft, the daughter of Judy Garland and sister of Liza Minnelli. Although they eventually divorced, Hooker stayed in Los Angles where he became a publisher and producer.
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